The present invention relates to a novel and useful meniscus tear repair device and method.
The knee is the largest joint in the human body. Cartilage within the human knee joint protects the joint from stresses resulting from walking, running, climbing, bending and the like. The medial and lateral menisci comprise two large C-shaped cartilages that are positioned on the top of the tibia.
A torn meniscus occurs due to trauma caused by forceful twisting or hyper-flexing of the knee joint. A torn meniscus produces symptoms of knee pain, swelling, popping and giving way of the knee joint. Although treatment of a torn meniscus may include physical therapy and muscle strengthening to stabilize the knee joint, surgery to repair or remove the damaged cartilage is often the only effective treatment.
Depending on the meniscus tear pattern, surgical repair procedures may include the use of anchors, darts, or sutures. Meniscal repair options include outside-in, inside-out, and all-inside techniques. The all-inside suture system appears to be preferable in that the placement of a suture ultimately results in a strong repair and minimizes damage to major nerves and large blood vessels. In general, suture repairs has proven difficult to carry out because of the position of menisci and mechanical difficulties in placement of a suture that compresses and secures a torn meniscal tear. In addition, other problems due to the high pushing forces that are required to penetrate a meniscus using rigid cannulas and the undesirable creation of deforming shear forces at the tear by cannulas that are straight and rigid.
In the past, many systems and devices have been proposed to repair tissues and menisci within the knee. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,448, United States Patent Application Publication 2011/0112556, and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0283750 describe specialized single cannulas utilizing movable components to pass a suture through tissue and return the same to provide a suture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,462 describes a method and device for a meniscal repair employing a pair of darts that extend through the tear connected to sutures that are tied in a knot to tension the tear.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,608,092 and, United States Patent Application Publication 2009/0312792, United States Patent Application Publication 2011/0022061, United States Patent Application Publication 2006/0190042, and Japanese Patent 4781689B9 show meniscus repair devices that employ anchors which are passed through the meniscus tightened by connected sutures.
United States Patent Application Publication 2009/0228041, United States Patent Application Publication 2010/0228271, United States Patent Application Publication 2010/0305583 and United States Patent Application Publication 2011/016076 teach meniscal repair systems using straight rigid cannulas that penetrate the meniscus and include a transfer system to pass a suture through one cannula to the other cannula forming a knotted suture about the meniscus tear.
A meniscus tear repair device that allows a practitioner to pass suture repair cannulas through the meniscus tear without damage to meniscus or creating a deforming shear force at the meniscus repair site would be a notable advance in the medical arts.